Gelatin Hair Mask Recipe: The Secret To Shiny, Strong Hair

If you want to have an entertaining conversation with your stylist, try that as an opening line.

Then when they ask how you’ve managed to get your hair so smooth and shiny, tell them you put Jello on your hair. (Or rather, gelatin, the stuff that Jello is made of.)

Of course, if you haven’t tried these things, do that first!

Gelatin: The Secret To Shiny, Strong Hair

If your stylist has ever told you conditioners like Pantene might wreck your hair over time, here’s why:

Many store-bought conditioners contain silicone, which coats the hair to make it smooth and shiny. Unfortunately, this only makes the hair **look** healthy – in reality it’s doing the exact opposite. Silicone blocks moisture from reaching the hair shaft, which can cause strands to become dry and brittle over time.

A far better option is gelatin, which contains keratin proteins that actually bind with hair to strengthen it. Unlike whole proteins such as egg yolk, which have difficulty bonding with hair, the partially cooked proteins found in gelatin bond easily. Gelatin adheres especially well to damaged areas, but also nourishes the entire strand as well. It helps to smooth the hair cuticle, boost shine and reduce breakage.

Those with wavy or curly hair also report that it reduces frizz.

Something to keep in mind is that, when it comes to protein treatments for hair, you can get too much of a good thing. See the Tips & Troubleshooting section below for info on how to get the best results.

Because I’ve been using gelatin in my hair for awhile now, I couldn’t get a true “before” photo to share with you. Fortunately I had an adorable little volunteer that was willing to help me out. The photo below is of my daughter, Katie, before and after her first gelatin hair mask.

Her hair looks a little oily in the photo on the right, but it’s actually not at all. I’d just run a large-tooth comb though it, which made it separate in a funny way. Oops!

The photo on the right is my hair after the same treatment. My hair is a weird blend of straight and wavy when it air dries, but you can see that it’s not oily or greasy. It is super, super soft though – I love gelatin masks!

Back to my daughters before and after: The light is a little brighter in the second photo because the sun was higher, but the increase in shine is real. The photos were taken about two hours apart because I let her run around outside while her hair dried. Both are completely unretouched.

Gelatin Hair Mask Recipe

Ingredients

1 teaspoon honey (I buy mine from a local beekeeper, but when he’s out of stock I order this brand)

Optional Add-Ins

Coconut Milk

Moisturizing. (Note: If you use homemade coconut milk, make sure to strain it through a coffee filter or you may end up with white flecks of coconut meat in your hair. Store-bought coconut milk will work fine – no filtering necessary.

Herbal Tea

Moisturizers

If your hair is very dry, you might try adding 1-2 tablespoons of avocado or banana to your mixture. Give it a whir in the blender before use to ensure even application.

Another option is to add a little bit of oil. A few drops may be enough, but some people add as much as one tablespoon. Oils to consider are olive, coconut, almond, and argan.

Essential Oils

Rosemary adds shine, chamomile is helpful for dry hair and tea tree is helpful for oily hair. For the recipe below, use 12-15 drops.

Making Your Gelatin Hair Mask

Add liquid to a small saucepan. Slowly sprinkle gelatin over your liquid while whisking to prevent lumps. Place the pan on your stove and allow the liquid to heat until steaming, stirring often with a spoon to prevent the gelatin from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the mixture is steaming, remove it from heat.

When the mixture has cooled down somewhat – it should be warm but not so hot that it’s uncomfortable to touch – add in the honey, vinegar, and any optional ingredients.

Using Your Gelatin Hair Mask

When the mixture is warm but not so hot that it’s uncomfortable to touch, apply it to clean, wet hair. I like to dip the ends of my hair into the jar, then pour a little bit on one side of my scalp and work it down from roots to tips before moving to the other side.

Allow the mask to sit for 10-30 minutes. If you’re planning to let it sit for much longer than 10 minutes, cover your hair with a shower cap so that it doesn’t dry out. When the time is up, rinse very thoroughly, follow with conditioner (here’s my recipe) or diluted apple cider vinegar, and allow to air dry.

If you find that your hair feels crunchy or brittle, see the “Tips & Troubleshooting” section below.

Tips & Troubleshooting

When it comes to protein and hair, you can get too much of a good thing. Healthy hair is both strong and flexible, but hair that has too much protein hardens, loses flexibility, and begins to break.

On the other hand, hair that is fragile is also prone to breakage. The trick is to find a balance between the two. If you find that your hair is feeling stiff or crunchy after a treatment, gently rinse your hair again just to make sure all the excess was removed, then follow with conditioner (here’s my recipe) or diluted apple cider vinegar and rinse again. Then next time you do a treatment, use about half the amount of gelatin you used before.

Experiment with how much you need. Shorter hair may need only half of what the recipe calls for, while very long, thick hair may need more.

Do this treatment no more than once a week – once every month is best for most people.

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About Heather

Hi, I'm Mommypotamus. My mission is to help you put delicious, healthy meals on the table, find effective natural remedies for common complaints, make your own fuss-free personal care and home products, and save time and money in the process.

I actually don’t usually use conditioner – I rinse with apple cider vinegar after washing with homemade shampoo. The shampoo bar I’ve been using lately (recipe coming soon) is AWESOME because it moisturizes without leaving a greasy residue – and it’s only three ingredients. Because shampoos are alkaline I simply rinse with vinegar afterwards to close the hair cuticle so that it’s smooth and shiny. (The vinegar is scented with infused herbs or essential oils)

I would love to help test it! We just did the clay wash followed by an ACV rinse on my daughter last night. She has little short hairs all over, though, so I’m not sure if they are new or broken hairs (all about the same length). We have a hard time cleaning her hair that it doesn’t get greasy quickly afterwards too.

Hi Heather 🙂 Thanks for this! It looks great! Just to clarify, you say to follow with conditioner, then comment that you don’t use conditioner; do you apply the mask, then just follow with an ACV rinse and then rinse the ACV out with water? (I don’t use conditioner, but ACV normally) Thanks! 🙂

I was wondering about the conditioner, too. I use hot coconut oil wrap in my hair if I think I need protein. However, I have found that I only really needed it when my hair was damaged from using commercial shampoos. Now, since I use soap, I find that my hair gets too crunchy after an application so I hardly treat my hair anymore.

Hi Kim, most homemade shampoos are made with real soap, which is alkaline. Most store-bought shampoos are really detergents with a more neutral pH. Hair does best when it is slightly acidic, so after washing with my shampoo bar I rinse with vinegar to restore my hair to the correct pH.

ok next question. I watch my hair go down the drain, in the waste basket, off my brush so I use a heavy conditioner after shampoo so that combing wet doesn’t pull out so much hair. When you rinse your hair with vinegar. Is it vinegar or apple cider vinegar and are these in place of conditioner?

Don’t use WEN shampoo I just saw a girl lose her hair from wen products. I use morrocan method shampoo line and detox clay. Hair goes through detox process from commercial shampoo to natural shampoo. (Old hair falling out, greasy hair etc.) if used constantly will go away in a couple weeks. Stay strong with keeping up with natural shampoo instead of going back to commercial shampoo

I tried this and love it! My hair is very fine and tends to be either flyaway or greasy. Most conditioners leave it lank looking. I left this in for 10 min, and could tell as soon as it was dry that my hair is much softer and supple. I think it looks shinier too. Thanks so much for the recipe, I keep trying various natural hair treatments and am often disappointed. Would love that shampoo recipe!

I am in perimenopause and my skin & hair have changed dramatically in spite of diet changes in the past 3 years. I tried this today as my hair was thin without body or bounce. I have high and lowlights in my hair. I put it on my dry hair before showering, worked it in well, wrapped a warm wet towel around my head and let it sit for 10 min. Washed with regular shampoo and styled as usual – wonderful shine and body!!! Will continue to do once or twice a month for sure!!

So cool, I am definitely trying this! My go-to deep conditioner is coconut oil, but I do find that it leaves my hair feeling heavy, so I’ve been looking for a good alternative 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!

This is amazing! I once tried washing my hair with egg yolk and it was so luxurious, soft, bouncy, and wavy! But…. more than once a month isn’t good! I used it again 2 weeks later and got the brittle hair. I will try this now that it has been a few months since I have used the egg, thanks for posting pictures! =)

I do that Cheryl! I have been taking the Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolysate once a day (in my morning cup of tea) for the last 6 months. I am 54; my hair is baby fine and thin. I have worn it uber short – think quarter to half an inch all over – for the last 10 yrs, because it wouldn’t grow much and when it did it looked terrible! Now it is growing like a weed and is 3-4″ long, looks nice and healthy and feels so good! Of course now I am going to try the mask too.

Thank you for this! After one application, my dry, frizzy hair has been magically transformed into shiny, soft, bouncy awesomeness. I keep touching it when no one is looking;) And, I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen already. Thanks again!

This looks like a great recipe Heather. So you would heat up the mask and then apply it to hair after washing it? Just wondering how to keep the mask at the right temperature. Will it work if it is cold? My hair is long and it takes me a while to wash it 🙂

I’ve used WEN for the last 7 yrs (non stop) and its worked wonders for my hair. I also have tons of new growth continuously coming in…I color and bleach regularly. Making blanket statements about hair falling out or thinning is ludicrous (using WEN) just like every remedy on Pinterest will work on every head of hair.

Pro tip: the best delivery system for homemade hair products is a peri bottle! Yes, like the kind you use after having a baby. I use Morocco Method and ACV rinses, and peri bottles are the BEST for distributing cleansers that don’t foam. So much better than pouring.

A year and a half ago, I had a major hair disaster that I won’t go into, but I ended up getting a keratin treatment to fix it. I HATED doing it because I know how bad it is for my hair. The only benefit (besides looking better) was that my hair dried really fast. I have insanely thick hair and it takes forever and ever to try. Anyway, I did this gelatin mask last month, and ever since, my hair dries crazy fast! Like, 10 minutes with the hair dryer instead of 30! I figure I’ll just do it again when it starts taking longer to dry my hair again. Way healthier and way cheaper than the keratin!

Haha, good point! As I mentioned in my first comment on this thread, I actually use apple cider vinegar as my “conditioner,” but I also have a recipe for leave-in conditioner that I make for my daughter posted here: https://www.mommypotamus.com/diy-leave-in-conditioner/

I’ve been bleaching my hair platinum blond for about nine months now (by bleaching twice and then applying a ash blond to neutralize the last bit of yellow.) I had wavy hair before going blond, but now my waves are gone. So about two weeks ago I got this silly idea to perm my hair to get my waves back (I miss them) what a terrible idea. My hair was in a good condition before the perm, but as soon as I rinsed the neutralizer and started to dry my hair it was all sticky and elastic, I immediately applied some coconut oil to them and left it in for a couple of hours. It feels a bit better but is still in a terrible state. Any advise?

You’ve pretty much denatured all the protein in your hair. Bleaching hair is an extremely damaging process to hair, especially when double processed. I strongly recommend you get a professional to do the double bleach and tone. If not, atleast get a friend to help do your roots. Watch videos on how to apply colour with a bowl and brush. Divide head into 4 sections by parting center front to center back, then from just behind ear over the top to other ear. Starting in the back, make a horizontal parting ABSOLUTELY NO DEEPER THEN 1/8″ . Apply to the underside of the section a GENEROUS amount of lightner from root to tip at roughly a 30 degree angle, using moderate pressure and a slight horizontal back and fourth sweeping motion. Then holding the section at 45 degrees elevation reload your brush and apply a generous amount of product from root to tip using the same application strategy from root to tip. The section should be completely saturated with lots of product flowing between the hairs. This is essential in getting your hair to adequately lighten and stay moist during the processing time. Dry product doesnt lighten hair, but will continue to damage it, so its important to apply enough lightner that its going to stay moist for the entire processing time. Now continue working up the quadrant till you get to the top, then do the otherside. Once thats done, move to the front sections. Now taking diagonal sections startin with the corner thats at the crown, start following the same application strategy. Because its a diagonal your first section will be the tiniest little triangle, but dont try and compensat by taking a deeper section, youll start overlapping, leading to breakage. Your sections will get wider as you go along. Continue on until you have just a thin section of hairline remaining. Leave this out. Now do the otherside to the hairline. Now apply to both side of the front hairline using the same application and pull the hair back and away from the face and “lay” an extra lightener on top of the root area painting back. Now set your timer for the maximum processing time. Your head should feel heavy with all the lightener in it and your roots should look puffy or swollen with product if youve applied correctly. Every 10 minutes or so take a section and scrape off the lightener and evaluate the degree of lightness. If its not light enough, reappy product and wait another 10. Check from different points each time. When it looks light enough, check a few places around your head. If all good, its time to rinse. When applying like this, using a professional strength lightener, most times a second bleaching isnt required. I can lift virgin coarse black South East Asian hair to butter yellow. Its only when going from the darkest of dark to the coolest of pastels that a second bleaching is required. If hair isnt light enough when the timer goes of, still rinse. Dont shampoo or condition just rinse extremely well till hair is no longer gritty or slippery and feels squeaky. For doing the second lightening, apply using the exact same application strategy, but use a lower volume of peroxide to mix up your bleach. Half the strength is usually perfect strength. The cuticle is already open and the cortex is exposed because we didnt lower the ph or seal the hair with shampoo or conditioner, so it will totally suck up and react with the milder product. Process till the desired level of lightness is achieved. Then rinse super thoroughly and shampoo twice. Now if youre going to tone, apply a spray in leave in conditioner which will balance the porosity and make the hair take up toner more evenly without creating a barrier preventing it from being absorbed. My advice is to find a semipermanent or acid based toner if you can. And ther is no need to put any toner higher then 12 volume on your hair. Semipermanents are preferred. Apply to the root area only. Wait a few minutes. If you feel your ends desperately needed toning, at the processing halfway point apply to ends, if its only needed a little bit, do it for the last 1/4 of processing time. If it really didnt need much at all, only appy for 2 minutes. If itwas perfect, when time is up, emulsify with water for 1 minute then rinse and condition deeply. Never ever perm hair thats more then 40% highlighted and never on fully bleached hair. Bleaching hair works by essentially chewing through the structure of your hair till it reaches the melanin in the cortex and blows it up like popping a balloon. So inherently in very strongly bleached hair, a lot of the hair structure (cortex) is broken down when trying to break down all of your melanin. This is why you lost your hair texture and it feels mushy and slimy. To many of the cystein disulfide bonds have been broken and oxidized to cysteic acid, which is water soluble, so when you wash youre hair you are litterally washing away your hair. Its been chemically dissolved. What can you do about it? Well, prrtein treatments harden the hair structure, so they will help you regain some texture and stop it from being so mushy. This gelatin one should be good to do on a monthly basis. My advice would be to go to a beauty supply that carries APhogee products and get your hands on their 2-Step protein treatment. Not the two minute reconstructor, you want the two step one. So the process is this. Wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo, towel dry till hair is just barely damp. Then apply step 1 making sure everything is coated, but not dripping with oversaturation. It smells kind of funny. Run a comb through it and chill out for 15 minutes. When time is up, now its time to cook it. Sit under a hood dryer on high heat UNCOVERED and process until hair is completely dry. It will feel very stiff and brittle at this point, and it is. If you dont have acess to a hood dryer you can just put a plastic grocery bag over your head like a bonnet and slide your hair dryer in the side opening. Works great for deep conditioners too. Once its all crispy, go and rinse with water just warm enough to soften the treatment. As you rinse it out youll notice your hair isnt quite so slimy, it has some texture back to it. Now do deal with the wireyness, apply the second part which is a deeply moisturizing treatment. I like to leave those in for a full 20 mins, sometimes back under the dryer for 10, cool for 10. Always do a cool down after doing a treatment under the dryer and rinse with cool water, this encourages the cuticle to close and seal in the treatment. Never do an APhogee 2-step any sooner then every 3 months, preferably 4 months, or your hair will become too stiff and brittle and potentially break off. You can use softer proteins on a more frequent basis. Gelatin, placenta, or hydrolyzed collagen are all good options. Keratin AMINO ACIDS are also good. Unspecified Hydrolyzed kertain, or keratin proteins molecular weight is too large to penetrate into the hair to give strucural strength, but are better for surface coating/film forming. Same with wheat and soy proteins. You might have been able to get back some of your texture before the perm, but after, the structure of your hair that was responsible for your texture was litterally turned to gelly, then when neutralized its supposed to harden back up, but because the integrety was already so compromised there wasnt enough of the structure left that could glue itself together again. Another option that would really help your situation would be using Olaplex or a similiar rebonding polymer added to your bleaching agent and toner, it synthetically crosslinks the broken protein residues in your hair making a surprisingly rejuvenating treatment. If you insist on doing these things yourself, you may be able to schmeagle yourself some online, but it will cost you. Also, dont over wash your hair. After You get your hair done and do a treatment, wait ATLEAST 2 weeks before washing it again. Natual scalp oils are one of the best moisturizers out there. But you have to let your hair get disgusting. Like weeks between washes. Everyfew days use a boar bristle brush and try and move the oil from your scalp to your ends, sliding it down and smoothing through your hair. You ideally dont want to wash your hair until when you brush your ends no longer look fluffy or fuzzy, but theyre starting to look stringy/clumped together. Then its time to wash. Anyways hope this helps!

It’s all good only that those poor big animals are slaughtered so that humans can put gelatin in their hair. It’s not the natural order of things and deep down we all know it. They are mammals they suffer just like us but nobody saves them.

I have used this twice now. The first time, I was amazed at how soft and strong my hair felt. My husband doesn’t ever notice if I color or cut my hair, but that night he told me he thought my hair looked great.

You have a lot of interesting recipes on your site that I’m anxious to try. Thank you for your contributions to more natural living.

Can this treatment be used more often, maybe twice or thrice a week? If not, then why so? I’m just trying to understand the side effects, or the facts about it being too damaging for the hair if exposed repeatedly. Or it’s safe and more beneficial the more you use it. I tried searching for it, but couldn’t find any information on the effects of overuse. Thanks!

I’ve tried this mask a couple of times and I love the way it makes my hair feel and look afterwards! The only thing I don’t really like is how it runs down my head while I’m letting it sit in my hair! I don’t know if there’s anything I can do about it. I put my shower cap on and I’ve tried wrapping an old towel around that too, but it still runs. I haven’t been able to tolerate it for more than 10 minutes before I have to get in the shower and rinse it off. Is there something you do to keep this from happening? Am I using too much? I have pretty long hair now that it’s grown out for a while. I take CH and gelatin internally and I think that’s helped it grow, but it still has a fine texture to it and looks and feels dry after I wash it. I use natural hair care products, but I don’t make them. I’d love to buy a coconut oil shampoo bar, but I haven’t done it yet.

OK, so I was a little wary of trying this, as my hair does not like too much protein. I have dark, curly, medium-length, medium-thick (closer to thin) hair . I decided to try this with my sister who has the same length but THICK, straight/wavy, dark hair. For hers, I used the full Tbsp of gelatin, but for myself, I followed the suggestion and used half. Then, for the water, I first steeped several sprigs of rosemary in a pint of water and allowed it to cool. I used this water for both the gelatin mask AND the ACV rinse (1/3 cup rosemary water to 2/3 cup ACV; my sister probably could have used more of the rinse). I applied and left the mask in as directed then RINSED, rinsed, rinsed with plenty of water, followed by the ACV rinse, working both water and ACV through my hair really well, then rinsed with water again. Next day, my hair was SUPER SOFT and did not need to be washed to get rid of any brittleness/stickiness/greasiness!! That scores BIG points in my book! Thanks, Heather!! 🙂

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